Ok, so this guys calls my shop yesterday and says, "Hi, I'm calling for a friend who's restoring a '55 Chevy truck. Do you do that kind of work?" I said no, we don't restore vehicle, but I can send you to a couple of good restoration places. Then he says, "Oh, ok. He needs sheet metal work since he's hot rodding it." I said, "Hold on, are we building a restored truck, or a hot rod?" A hot rod was the answer. So I told him, yes, we build hot rods. And yes, we can help. Ok was the reply, I'll have my friend call you later. Now I'm thinking just another "tire kicker."

Sure enough though, a guy calls me about 3:00pm. Tells me his name and his story. Here's his story. He had two, yes two, trucks being built at Prairie State Rod Shop in Elburn Illinois. I say had. His buddy went to see HIS car on monday night, and the shop was empty except for HIS car and my new customers two trucks. That's right, no equipment, no supplies, no machinery, no racks. EVERYTHING was gone. This included an engine, trans and several parts that belonged to my new customer along with $8,000.00! Not only that, but SEVERAL thousand dollars of other peoples money and parts.

The scumbags name is Mitch Trivanovich, and he is possibly on his way or is in California. I'll post a picture of said scumbag. If anyone has seen this cat, or sees him, or know's information about where he really is or went, please contact the Illinois State Police at
* In Illinois call 1-800-247-7684
* Outside Illinois call 1-217-785-3325 (8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday - Central Time Zone)
* Outside Illinois - after hours - call 1-217-786-6677

Other guys to look for and report to the state police are:
Chris Powell (young guy in photo)
and Jim Moreland (older guy with glasses and jean jacket).

And if you're Mitch reading this, or one of his buddies, one of the guys you screwed is apparently "not the guy you do that to," and " he's going to take care of it." I'm sure my new customer wasn't refering to having enough money to afford a good lawyer

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